Pack for smoking articles

ABSTRACT

A pack ( 13 ) for elongate smoking articles encased in an inner wrapping includes a paperboard outer container having a generally rectangular base ( 14 ), four hingedly connected side walls ( 15-20 ) which upstand from the base, and a top panel member ( 22 ) which at least partially closes off the top of the pack. The side walls ( 15-20 ) are substantially the same height as the smoking articles and are secured with respect to the base. Access to the smoking articles is made beside the top panel member ( 22 ).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to packs for smoking articles which areelongate in appearance such as cigarettes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Packs for such smoking articles generally fall into one of three wellknown types. These are “hard” or “crushproof” packs having a hinged lidportion, “hull and slide” packs having an open ended outer hull in whichthe slide reciprocates and “soft” packs in which a foil bundle ofsmoking articles are covered in a paper wrapper which is open at itsupper end. The “hard” and “soft” packs are much more popular than therather old fashioned “hull and slide” packs and tend to appeal todifferent consumers for different reasons. “Soft” packs are less rigidthan “hard” packs and tend to be less bulky after some of the contentshave been used. This, however, can lead to damage to the remainingcontents due to crushing of the flexible paper wrapper.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a pack for elongatesmoking articles encased in an inner wrapping, said pack comprising apaperboard outer container having a generally rectangular base, fourhingedly connected side walls upstanding therefrom, and top panel meanswhich at least partially closes off the top of the pack, said side wallsbeing substantially the same height as the smoking articles and beingsecured with respect to the base, and access to the smoking articlesbeing made by way of the top panel means.

Preferably said top panel means comprises a single top panel hingedlyconnected to one of said side walls and one or more securing panelshingedly connected to said top panel and adhesively secured to theinside of one or more of the other side walls. Ideally the top panelcomprises a single thickness of paperboard. In some arrangements asingle securing panel is provided and is adhesively secured to the sidewall opposite said one side wall to which the top panel is connected.Normally said one side wall and said opposite side wall are wider thanthe other two side walls.

With certain embodiments the junctions between adjoining pairs of sidewalls are bevelled, either as radiussed bevels or as flat, angledbevels.

Another preferred feature is that the top panel extends wholly acrossthe top of the pack and has a removable portion defined by lines ofweakening such as perforations.

In one type of construction the base is hingedly connected at oppositeedges to said one side wall and the opposite side wall, both of whichside walls are each hingedly connected to oppositely disposed side wallportions, the side wall portions of said one side wall being adhesivelysecured to the respective side wall portions of the opposite side wallto produce the other two side walls.

With many embodiments the pack also incorporates a tax band whichextends over the top panel means and which is secured thereto and toopposite side walls, said side walls being wider than the other two sidewalls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail makingreference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pack according to the presentinvention,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an alternative pack according to thepresent invention,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a foil wrapped bundle of smokingarticles,

FIG. 4 shows a blank for encasing the FIG. 3 bundle to produce the packshown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 5 shows a further blank for encasing the FIG. 3 bundle to produce apack similar to FIG. 1,

FIG. 6 shows a blank for encasing the FIG. 3 bundle to produce the packshown in FIG. 2,

FIG. 7 shows a still further blank for encasing the FIG. 3 bundle toproduce a further different pack, and

FIG. 8 shows an example of a differently oriented blank for producing apack similar to FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 3 shows a bundle 10 comprising a number of smoking articles, suchas twenty cigarettes, wrapped in a folded inner wrapping 11. Thewrapping 11 may be made of a thin, flexible material such as paper,metal foil or a metal coated paper. Such bundles are well known in thetobacco industry and only one example has been shown although otherfolding configurations are known for the wrapping 11.

FIG. 4 shows a paperboard blank 12 for folding and securing about thebundle 10 to produce a pack 13 as shown in FIG. 1. The blank 12 has abase 14 which is hingedly connected on opposite sides to first andsecond main side walls 15, 16. The base 14 is generally rectangular withrounded corners. Hingedly connected at 21 to opposite lateral edges ofthe main side walls 15, 16 are side wall portions 17, 18, 19, 20. Eachhinge connection 21 in this embodiment comprises a number of lengthwisecreases, the purpose of which will become apparent in due course.Hingedly connected to the edge of the first main side wall 15 remotefrom the base 14 is a top panel 22 which in turn is hingedly connectedto a securing panel 23. Tuck flaps 25 are also hingedly connected to theside wall portions 19, 20.

In one method of assembling the pack 13, the bundle 10 is placed on, andoptionally adhesively secured to the first side wall 15. The top panel22 is then folded up so as to lie against the top of the bundle 10 andthe base 14 is also folded up so as to lie against the bottom of thebundle 10. The securing panel 23 is then folded over so as to lieagainst the bundle 10 and the second side wall 16 is folded down on tothe bundle so as to be adhesively secured to the securing panel 23. Theside wall portions 17-20 are then folded around the bundle whilst thetuck panels 25 are tucked between the bundle 10 and the base 14 andadjacent side wall portions 17, 19 and 18, 20 are adhesively secured toeach other.

The lengthwise creases of each hinge connection 21 enable the blank 12to curve around the bundle 10 which has a smoking article at eachcorner. In this way the finished pack 13 does not have sharp lengthwiseedges but radiussed bevel edges which are matched in the top panel 22and base 14.

It will be appreciated that other ways of folding and securing the blankare possible. Also, the hinge connections 21 could be in the form ofsmall angled bevel panels defined between two lengthwise creases orcould be single creases to produce sharper lengthwise edges. Thisapplies to all described embodiments, with only minor modifications tothe blank being necessary to produce the different pack effects.

At the same time as the side walls 15, 16 are being folded up, and theside wall portions are being secured, the top panel 22 and the securingpanel 23 are being folded such that the securing panel 23 is adhesivelysecured to the inside of the second main side wall 16. In thisconfiguration the top panel 22 extends over the top of the bundle. Aband 24 which may be, for example, a tax band, may also be attached overthe top of the top panel 22 from the first side wall to the second sidewall 16. In other arrangements a band may extend from one pair of sideportions 17, 19 across to the other pair of side portions 18, 20,covering the whole top area of the pack 13. Other types of tax bandcould also be used.

To gain access to the smoking articles, a portion of the top panel hasto be removed to reveal the wrapping 11 of the bundle 10.

It will be appreciated that the pack 13 has many of the attributes of a“soft” pack with the paperboard sides giving the pack more rigidityagainst certain crushing forces. In addition the provision of apaperboard base and a top panel give the pack further rigidity againstdifferently oriented crushing forces. However, the single thickness baseand top do not reinforce the pack to the extent that it remains as rigidas a standard “hard” pack and this is an important feature to thoseconsumers who tend to prefer the look and feel of “soft” packs. The pack13 may also appeal to those consumers who tend to buy “hard” packsbecause the pack 13 is not as rigid as “hard” packs but retains itsshape sufficiently to reduce damage to the contents when compared tostandard “soft” packs.

FIG. 5 shows a very similar blank 30 to the blank 12 shown in FIG. 4.The only difference is that there are provided three perforated lines ofweakening 31 to facilitate removal of a portion 32 of the top panel 22to obtain access to the bundle 10.

FIG. 6 shows another similar blank 40 to the blank 12 shown in FIG. 4and like parts have been given similar reference numerals. Thedifference is that parts 41 of the top panel 22 and the securing panel23 have already been removed such that the wrapping 11 of the bundle 10is already visible. In practise the packs 13 of this and otherembodiments will be overwrapped with a clear plastic film for addedsealing and protection.

In FIG. 7 there is shown a further blank 50 which is similar in manyrespects to the FIG. 4 blank 12 except that the top panel 22 is hingedlyconnected to one of the side panel portions 17 and has two securingpanels 23 for attachment to respective main side walls 15, 16.

FIG. 8 shows an alternative blank configuration 60 having a double setof perforations 31 in the top panel 22. Also the two main side walls 15,16 are hingedly connected in series with three side wall portions 61,62, 63 and each main side wall 15, 16 is hingedly connected to a basepanel 64, 65. In one illustrative way of assembling the blank 60, thebundle 10 is placed on, and optionally adhered to, the first side wall15. The top panel 22, base 64 and side wall portions 61, 62 are foldedup against the bundle and then the securing panel 23 is folded down onto the side of the bundle 10. The second side wall 16 is then foldedover the bundle and is secured to the securing panel 23. The other basepanel 65 is then folded down and secured to the first base panel 64.Finally the side wall portion 63 is folded around and secured to sidewall portion 61. During this assembly routine, the tuck panels 25 willbe tucked above the base panels 64, 65.

The double thickness base gives more rigidity at the base compared tothe top. With filter cigarettes the filters tend to be at the top and sothe extra base rigidity can reduce damage to the other, tobaccocontaining ends of the filter cigarettes.

Similar alternative blank configurations could of course be utilised inplace of the other blanks described above. In other arrangements thesecuring panel or panels may not be glued but may be simply tuckedinside the main side walls or may even be glued to the outside of themain side panels. Also, in the FIGS. 5 and 6 blanks the portion to beremoved or the removed portion need not be rectangular as shown butcould be any desired shape. Also there may be a further removableportion on the other lateral side of the top panel.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pack which contains elongate smoking articlesencased in an inner wrapping, said pack comprising: a paperboard outercontainer having a generally rectangular base, four hingedly connectedside walls upstanding from said base and extending uninterruptedly to atop of the pack, and a top panel member which, when the pack is formed,only partially closes off the top of the pack, said top panel membercomprising a single top panel hingedly connected to one of said sidewalls and one or more securing panels hingedly connected to said toppanel an adhesively secured to an inside of one or more of said sidewalls; and wherein said side walls are a predetermined height which isselected to be substantially a same predetermined height as the smokingarticles and are secured with respect to the base; wherein access to thesmoking articles is made beside the top panel member; and wherein ajunction between adjoining pairs of side walls is contoured.
 2. A packas claimed in claim 1, wherein the top panel comprises a singlethickness of paperboard.
 3. A pack as claimed in claim 1, wherein asingle securing panel is provided which is adhesively secured to a saidside wall opposite to said one side wall to which the top panel isconnected.
 4. A pack as claimed in claim 3, wherein said one side walland said opposite side wall are wider than the other two said sidewalls.
 5. A pack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base is hingedlyconnected at opposite edges to said one side wall and to said oppositeside wall, both of which said side walls are each hingedly connected tooppositely disposed side wall portions, the side wall portions of saidone side wall being adhesively secured to respective side wall portionsof said opposite side wall to produce the other two said side walls. 6.A pack as claimed in claim 1, further including a band which extendsover the top panel member and which is secured thereto and to oppositesaid side walls, said opposite side walls being wider than the other twosaid side walls.
 7. A pack which contains elongate smoking articlesencased in an inner wrapping, said pack comprising: a paperboard outercontainer having a generally rectangular base, four hingedly connectedside walls upstanding from said base and extending uninterruptedly to atop of the pack, a top panel member which, when the pack is formed, onlypartially closes off the top of the pack; a band which extends over thetop panel member and which is secured thereto and to opposite said sidewalls, said opposite side walls being wider than the other two said sidewalls; and wherein said side walls are a predetermined height which isselected to be substantially a same predetermined height as the smokingarticles and are secured with respect to the base; wherein access to thesmoking articles is made beside the top panel member; and wherein ajunction between adjoining pairs of side walls is contoured.